Back from the Land of 10,000 Lakes

My grandma's family home.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

We arrived back in California on Saturday afternoon, and went right into Memorial Day, with a block party in my sister's neighborhood, then laundry and re-stocking the fridge today, and I'm still not totally back on California time!  We'll see how that works when I go back to work tomorrow ...

Kitzville School, where my grandma attended.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

While I was gone we had a heat wave here in California, and we must have brought some California weather to Minnesota because, apart from a chilly rainy day the first day we were there, it was sunny and really warm the entire time.  Beautiful weather for my grandmother's funeral, which was nice.  Got to take a drive around town with my great uncle seeing a bunch of historic places, which I do remember doing the last time or two we were there when my grandma was alive, but it was different this time.  Before, we were always tagging along on her visit, we were only there to accompany her and make sure she was o.k., and although we were seeing family, we only ever saw them on these types of occasions; she was the one who had a relationship with them, and we were kind of the proverbial "third wheel" in the equation.

Catching up -- I'm so behind!

My grandparents' wedding
portrait from 1945.  Photo:
Elizabeth Urbach.

We've been keeping busy around here lately.  My grandma, who passed away last month, wanted to be buried in her hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, up near the Canadian border with the U.S., and the weather has finally warmed up enough that they can have her interment.  So, several members of my family will be flying out to Minnesota next week and spending a few days there with the family for my grandma's second funeral and burial.  It will be a lot of flying and driving, and hopefully, a really good experience with the family, since it will also probably be the last time we go out to Minnesota, and maybe the last time we see those relatives in person ...

Busy days.

Christina and I making the tea. 

Oh my gosh, it's been something like a month since I last posted!  A lot has been going on.

First, we had our 6th annual Cat Rescue Tea in San Jose, and it was another success!  We served about 120 people over 2 days, and raised close to $5,000 for 13th Street Cats!

I made 8 batches of Meyer lemon curd, and coordinated a bunch of other things, including jam donations, tea donations (from Satori Tea Bar and Thompson Tea Company), and put together 2 afternoon tea baskets for the silent auction, as well as collected a bunch of other tea things for the raffle for both days.  I also helped make tea sandwiches, served the lemon curd, jam, and butter, and with my friend Christina, made all the tea that was served at the event.

Irish tea and treats for St. Patrick's Day

Image: AntiqueClipArt.com

Well, even though I'm not Irish, how can I pass up celebrating a holiday that honors a nation of tea-drinkers?  My mom always makes a corned beef, cabbage and potato dinner, and has lately started buying Irish beer for my dad and brother.  I, on the other hand, am more a fan of cider and wine rather than beer, and much more a fan of tea and treats.
I've made seed cake, shortbread and soda bread before, but not barmbrack, which according to modern recipes, is a fruitcake where you first plump the dried fruit in hot tea and then add it to the cake.  I may have to try that today for elevenses (morning tea and treat at 11 a.m.), which according to some Irish cultural websites, is as much an Irish tradition as an English one!

Finally finishing a project ...

Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

Several months ago I began to make a dress for the museum where I work.  We conduct custom tours for 3rd grade classes in our Victorian house, and the tours include a short dress-up session and photo opportunity.  The girls' costumes that we use are Jessica McClintock and similar Edwardian-inspired dresses from the 1970s through 1990s, that are not only historically inaccurate for the time period of the house (1855 - 1875) but they're getting really ratty, faded, and in need of replacement.  But hey, they were donated 15 years ago (i.e. FREE) ...

Upcoming interview and the Cat Rescue Tea approaching!

2013 Downton Tabby Tea place setting.
Photo: Miranda Von Stockhausen.

There are two little tidbits of information to share today:

Tidbit #1: tickets to the Downton Tabby Tea benefit for 13th Street Cats are selling like hotcakes!  Or would that be tea cakes? Or catnip mousies?  Anyway, I understand that Sunday, March 30th is sold out, and that there are only 3 or 4 seats left for Saturday, March 29th, so buy yours TODAY before they're all gone!  It will be a really fun event with delicious food and tea (if I do say so myself ...).

Tidbit #2: I was contacted a few months ago by Stephen Nelson, who produces and hosts the podcasts at Tea Rage.  He wanted to interview me for a podcast, and I thought that would be a great idea.  It's always fun to meet other tea people, and the idea of sitting down and geeking out about tea is just so much fun!  We finally met and recorded the podcast this afternoon at Satori Tea Bar in San Jose, and after some editing (lots of background noise and, I suspect, rambling on my part) the recording will be up on Tea Rage in the next few months!  I'll post the link when it's up, but I encourage you all to pop over and listen.  Despite the "rage" in the title, and the fact that Stephen proudly categorizes himself as a "tea snob" he's not snobby or full of rage in real life, and we had a really interesting "chin-wag" over pots of tea.  We talked, not only about our mutual love of tea, and the South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild, but also about ideas for future tea research and projects.  He might be buying a tea plant in the future and experimenting with growing and processing his own tea, so keep your eyes on this blog and I'll let you know when he does!  He also told me about another tea podcast series, called Leaf and Let Die, which I had never heard about; that's more of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 approach to not-so-good teas ... I'll have to give the podcasts a listen and see what it's all about.  

Cat Rescue Tea 2014 tickets are on sale now!

Downton Tabby Tea 2012.
Photo: Miranda Von Stockhausen 

It's that time again: the 6th Annual Downton Tabby Tea fundraiser is scheduled for March 29 and 30 in San Jose, and tickets have just gone on sale!  They sell out quickly, so be sure to buy yours as soon as you can.  Feel free to dress up for this event, in keeping with the Downton Abbey theme and the opulence of this restored Victorian mansion!

*NOTE: If you have a group of people attending, and you would like to be seated together, you must buy the tickets for your group at the same time (in one transaction), or we cannot guarantee your seating.  If ticket sales go like they have for the past few years, there won't be any available to buy at the door, or in the days leading up to the event!  Only tickets that have been paid for can be considered "reserved"!

Here is the vital information:

Fundraising organization: Friends of 13th Street Cats/13th Street Cat Rescue (www.13thstcats.org)

Dates: Saturday, March 29 and Sunday March 30, 2 to 4 p.m.

Location: a restored Victorian home in the Hensley District, downtown San Jose.  The address will be sent privately to those who purchase tickets.

Event details: prix-fixe afternoon tea plate includes homemade scone, lemon curd, jam, tea sandwiches and savories, nut cup and fresh fruit, tea cake and chocolate, as well as bottomless pots of tea (Satori Tea Bar's Earl Grey Creme or Smitten Kitten herbal tisane from Thompson Tea Co.).  There will be a silent auction and a raffle of a variety of wonderful items; in the past these have included: timeshare vacations, to bottles of wine, to tea baskets, to gear for your pets.  Self-guided tours of the mansion may also be available at the discretion of the owners.

Tickets:

• $40 per person, for a full afternoon tea, Veggie or Regular options; 
• $50 per person, for the full afternoon tea, Veggie or Regular options, plus 2 glasses of champagne; 
• $150 for the Countess Package, full afternoon tea (Veggie or Regular) for 2, champagne for 2, VIP table for 2, 2 VIP badges, 2 tea favors, and advance entry at 1:30 p.m.;
• $300 for the Grantham Package, which is everything included in the Countess Package, but for 4 people.  

Where to buy your tickets: the 13th Street Cats website at http://www.13thstcats.org/info/display?PageID=14639   Tickets on sale NOW!

See you there!